0-0 draw in the Premier League on Saturday in a

From secret board meetings to a PR specialist in crisis management - how Newcastle replaced Steve McClaren with Rafa Benitez... With Newcastle facing relegation and the home crowd calling for McClaren to be dismissed after Saturdays 3-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth, the club have acted.Here, Sky Sports News HQ reporter Keith Downie lifts the lid on developments at the club over the past week which led to the former England boss being sacked and Newcastle appointing a man who was managing Real Madrid earlier this season… Five games which cost McClaren We look at five games which cost Steve McClaren his job Steve McClaren had been under pressure at Newcastle for some time and on Thursday night last week a source outside of the club told me he could potentially lose his job if Newcastle lost to Bournemouth at St James Park on Saturday.However, on the morning of the match, another source, from within the club, said that no matter the result against Bournemouth, hed keep his job. So there was conflicting information going into the game.More than the 3-1 defeat, though, it was perhaps the reaction of the fans which heightened the speculation around McClarens future. Half of the crowd were singing Steve McClaren, youre taking us down, and the other half were singing Youre getting sacked in the morning. Newcastle fans vented their anger at McClaren during the defeat to Bournemouth Interestingly, Keith Bishop was at the game. Hes owner Mike Ashleys PR man - a specialist in crisis management - and would have spoken with members of the board and fed that back to Ashley. Its not unusual to see Bishop around the club - but he is a more frequent visitor when there are problems to deal with.After the game, I was the first to interview McClaren. Stood there in the tunnel, he told me he absolutely would not walk away. I asked him whether he thought hed be in charge for the Leicester game on Monday Night Football on March 14, and he just said he hoped so. At that stage, he knew he was under pressure.Sunday was a day off for everyone at the club, and there were no developments. Previously, when Alan Pardew or John Carver were under pressure, Newcastle have issued statements or made press briefings indicating their support of the manager. There was no announcement made by the club in the wake of the Bournemouth game. McClaren says the negative chanting from the Newcastle fans in their 3-1 loss at home to Bournemouth was justified On Monday, there was a board meeting, attended by three of the four board members. The missing person was McClaren, who didnt even know the meeting was taking place.When McClaren was appointed Newcastle manager last summer, he became the first Premier League manager to be given a place on a clubs board. However, the first he knew about Mondays meeting would have been when he read the papers or turned on his TV.The meeting took place near York, with managing director Lee Charnley, the main decision maker at the club, joined by chief scout Graham Carr and club legend Bob Moncur. Its believed they discussed a number of managerial options, with Rafa Benitez and David Moyes the most high profile. McClaren continued to take training this week Injured players were the only ones at the club on Monday - the first-team and McClaren himself returned on Tuesday for training. The manager still hadnt heard anything about his future when he left at 4pm and headed straight for home.McClaren remained in the dark on Tuesday night and returned to the training ground at 8am on Wednesday morning. It was then that he was invited to a meeting with Charnley. That was the first time hed heard from the managing director since Saturdays defeat.However, McClaren left the training ground at 4pm and went straight home. Charnley had asked him to meet him at the stadium but McClaren refused. Instead, they had a quick chat over the phone. McClaren arrived for work as usual throughout the week On Thursday, McClaren came back in to take training and we later interviewed stand-in skipper Jonjo Shelvey, who said the players had let the manager down. Once again, McClaren left the training ground having not heard anything about his future at the club.It seems that on Thursday evening, the deal with Benitez was agreed in principle. Newcastle had been speaking with two English intermediaries about Benitez taking over from McClaren.Charnley phoned McClaren on Thursday evening, asking him to come to the club on Friday - his day off. McClaren told him that if he was only coming in to be sacked, hed rather do it over the phone and not mess around. Rafael Benitez arrives at the Newcastle training ground McClaren would have known he was at risk, given all the speculation around Benitez, and at 10.30am on Friday he received a call from Charnley telling him he had been sacked.Charnley had wanted the deal with Benitez to be all-but complete by the time he sacked McClaren and, at 2pm, Benitez arrived at St James Park to sign his contract. It was the first time Benitez had met Charnley face-to-face and, half an hour later he had become Newcastle manager. Benitez with Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley Wholesale Jordan Shoes . The Tinkoff-Saxo rider was still dealing with the right shin he broke in a crash which ended his Tour de France on Stage 10. He hoped to defy his doctors and race in the home Grand Tour he won in 2008 and 2012, but he says there have been complications in his recovery. Cheap Jordans Shoes Wholesale . The closer wasnt available. 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DETROIT LIONS AT CHICAGO BEARS, 1:00 PM (ET) Detroit - G Rodney Austin, WR Ryan Broyles, DT Nick Fairley, QB Kellen Moore, DT Caraun Reid, CB Mohammed Seisay, DE Larry Webster Chicago - S Chris Conte, DT Brandon Dunn, QB David Fales, K Robbie Gould, CB Terrance Mitchell, OT Michael Ola, DE Trevor Scott GREEN BAY PACKERS AT TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Green Bay - LB Carl Bradford, DT Bruce Gaston, C Garth Gerhart, CB Davon House, WR Jeff Janis, TE Justin Perillo, QB Scott Tolzien Tampa Bay - OT Anthony Collins, CB Isaiah Frey, WR Robert Herron, RB Mike James, WR Solomon Patton, FB/TE Evan Rodriguez, LB Lawrence Sidbury KANSAS CITY CHIEFS AT PITTSBURGH STEELERS, 1:00 PM (ET) Kansas City - WR Donnie Avery, CB Marcus Cooper, OT Laurent Duvernay-Tardif, OL Eric Kush, QB Aaron Murray, RB Charcandrick West, DT Nick Williams Pittsburgh - WR Justin Brown, DE Clifton Geathers, G Chris Hubbard, QB Landry Jones, S Troy Polamalu, TE Matt Spaeth, CB Ike Taylor MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT MIAMI DOLPHINS, 1:00 PM (ET) Minnesota - LB Anthony Barr, OT Carter Bykowski, DB Ahmad Dixon, OT Charlie Johnson, FB Zach Line, CB Shaun Prater, TE Kyle Rudolph Miami - G Nate Garner, WR Matt Hazel, S Don Jones, WR Rishard Matthews, LB Chris McCain, G Dallas Thomas, RB Daniel Thomas NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS AT NEW YORK JETS, 1:00 PM (ET) New England - CB Kyle Arrington, RB LeGarrette Blount, OL Dan Connolly, CB Alfonzo Dennard, OT Jordan Devey, WR Julian Edelman, RB James White NY Jets - DT T.LONDON, England - Bottom-place Fulham beat Newcastle 1-0 on Saturday for its first win in the Premier League since New Years Day. The Cottagers last victory came in a 2-1 home win over West Ham when Rene Meulensteen was still in charge. Since then, a miserable run of seven defeats and two draws has seen the club part with the Dutch coach and replace him with German Felix Magath. And the 60-year-old Magath claimed his first victory since taking over when Ashkan Dejagah cut in from the left before rifling a shot under goalkeeper Tim Krul in the 68th minute. The win sees Fulham move to within three points of Crystal Palace in 17th place while Newcastle was left in ninth on 43 points. Newcastle manager Alan Pardew served the first of his seven-game ban for headbutting an opposing player. -- SWANSEA, Wales - West Bromwich Albion recovered from conceding an early goal by scoring twice in the second half to earn a 2-1 win at Swansea on Saturday in the Premier League. A day after severing ties with striker Nicolas Anelka, West Brom had a terrible start as Roland Lamah put Swansea ahead in just the second minute. But Stephane Sessegnon equalized in the 52nd and Youssuf Mulumbu netted the winner in the 85th to put West Brom three points above the relegation zone. They are now just one point behind 14-place Swansea. West Brom announced late Friday it had fired Anelka after the French forward said on Twitter that he had terminated his contract following his ban for a controversial goal celebration gesture. Spanish striker Michu came on as a substitute for Swansea, making his return after a lengthy injury layoff. -- SOUTHAMPTON, England - Southampton secured a 4-2 win over relegation-threatened Norwich in the English Premier League on Saturday. The Saints took a fifth-minute lead when Morgan Schneiderlin raced onto midfielder Gaston Ramirezss pass before slotting past John Ruddy.dddddddddddd The visitors found themselves chasing a two-goal margin when substitute Ricky Lambert struck seconds after his introduction in the 57th. Lambert then turned provider for Jay Rodriguez, who converted from close range in the 72nd. Norwich set up a dramatic finale after grabbing two goals in quick succession. First through substitute Johan Elmander in the 85th before Robert Snodgrass beat goalkeeper Artur Boruc seconds later. But youngster Sam Gallacher calmed Southampton nerves as Norwich chased the equalizer, with the Canaries now a mere four points outside the relegation zone. -- SUNDERLAND, England - Crystal Palace held Sunderland to a 0-0 draw in the Premier League on Saturday in a game between two sides fighting to stave off relegation. The hosts dominated possession but struggled to create scoring chances, with Fabio Borini coming closest in the 83rd minute when his hard shot hit the crossbar. Kagisho Dikgacoi missed a late chance for the visitors to steal the win when his shot from the centre of the box went wide. Palace remained three points above Sunderland in 17th place, but the visitors have two games in hand. -- STOKE, England -- Peter Odemwingie scored twice as Stoke came from behind to beat West Ham 3-1 and move further away from relegation danger in the English Premier League on Saturday. England striker Andy Carroll gave West Ham the lead in the fifth minute with his first goal since April, only for Peter Crouchs acrobatic effort to strike the shoulder of Odemwingie and ricochet in for the equalizer in the 32nd. Marko Arnautovic put Stoke ahead in the 69th and Odemwingie finished a counter attack with a powerful shot from an acute angle with 11 minutes to go. Stoke moved into the top half while West Ham is six points clear of the relegation zone. ' ' '